SMART Pilots Please leave your comments below regarding the SMART Board pilot. Include anything relevant including training and support, ease of usage, interaction, recommendations, software, suggestions for future, etc. Please tag your name so any/all can contact each other for any que
stions.
1 - Full size boards only
I have really enjoyed piloting the Smartboard; it has really changed the way I teach . The students love using the Smartboard, and when it is occasionally acting temperamental, more often than not the students know can fix the problem! The level on interest and engagement from the students increased a great deal when we began using the Smartboard, and now it is used all day long.The lessons that Smartboard offers as free downloads are wonderful, as well as the thousands of pre-made lessons available on the web. I am extremely excited to go through the remodel this summer - to have the SmartBoards mounted will be great. I am also anxious to get more SmartBoard training! - I believe once our entire school is using Smartboards, the collaboration will be great.
~Stacey McAtee, Kohler School
This board has changed the way I teach in so many ways! Even with the two small training sessions, the notebook was user friendly. I learned a great deal from the training, but even more by playing around with it in my room. It was also helpful to download lessons and then edit them to fit my lessons. The bright screen with the different pen colors was very engaging. The gallery helped students learn concepts in all subjects that were hard to bring to life previously. The students would moan if I ever turned on the overhead projector. "Why can't we use the Smart Board?" they would all ask. I am happy to have the boards mounted and to get rid of all those cords on the floor! Lessons were easy to find on the web, but I spend most of my time creating quizzes with the Senteos. Those are the BEST! We are planning to do a fundraiser to purchase a few sets! Anyone want some cookie dough? I can't live without them now that I've seen the light! What a wonderful way to make learning more interactive and for students and teachers to get instant feedback. For students, the Senteos motivated them to stay on task and I found they put forth more of an effort when I passed out the Senteos. I would like to recommend that we train our substitute teachers to use the boards as well. My Smartboard blocked my white board so they were unable to use anything for the day. *I am truly happy to have been apart of this learning experience. ~Gina Ripley (Kohler)
I am so sad to hear that they will be leaving. I love having the board. It has been an awsome tool. I started using it in October and have not gone back to the overhead once. I have not had any problems. I usually only have to calibrate my board in the morning. It has been really easy. It has completely changed the way I teach. It is awsome for ELL's, being able to have color graphics and things instantly become real for students. It is a little challenging to do sub plans. I really don't want a sub messing with my computer, and I'm the one responsible for it if they leave the door unlocked. So for subs. I create alternate plans. I love the board. Kimberly Rivera, Aero Haven.
I am thrilled to have the "magic" board in my class. I have spent many hours creating lessons that are truely helping the First graders at my school learn. I use the board for a few hours a day. I did have to spend hours setting the board up. I made several trips to Fry's purchasing the right length cords and fire code floor covers. I do have to realign the board a few times a day but my first graders practice counting by 2's when I am fixing the board. I have only had the board working for 2 weeks and I can't imagine teaching without it again. I do wish we had maybe a meeting once a month to share great lessons and helpful hints.
Having these boards mounted will obviously eliminate the problems that I've had with my board - constant realigning, cord problems, difficulty between laptop/board communication. Unfortunately, for the pilot, this has been somewhat troublesome because it's been touch and go whether or not the board will be cooperating on a certain day. Still though, it's been an amazing resource to have and the kids are so much more engaged and in tune. The capabilities of the board to enhance curriculum is amazing. Learning is inevitable and fun.
Jeri Jones, Aero Haven
The SMARTboard has trully changed the level of student engagement during lessons for the better. Instead of one or two hands popping up to volunteer modeling, I have 21! Even better, there are literally thousands of ready-made lessons on the internet that I can use or tweak to my liking. The gallery also has tons of backgrounds and other visuals I use to teach everything from cursive to classifying angles. I can honestly say that I have not turned on my overhead projector in months! I have not had a very difficult time calibrating the SMARTboard, either, though my students are now very familiar with that word (which third graders would never know otherwise!). I do have some minor concerns, though. There are tons of cords needed to plug in the laptop, LCD projector, SMARTboard, and senteo clickers. My students are constantly tripping over them (I may have once or twice as well). Also, although there are some graphic organizers in the gallery, I would love for Houghton-Mifflin to put out a disk with their transparencies so that I could use those as well. I am also teaching my student teacher to use the SMARTboard and she has been picking it up rather easily. I don't know how I ever taught without it! - Gina Friend, Frontier School
My Smartboard has added a new level of student engagement and interaction in my classroom. I have created lessons that give visual and concrete examples of difficult to understand math concepts, and having access to the thousands of lessons on the internet has proved invaluable. There are some drawbacks as mentioned above, but the mounting of the boards and projectors will certainly ease some of those problems. We're getting these installed at Westside as I write this and I look forward to having our staff utilize these to their fullest. They have to be used to be effective!
Tony Wood-Westside
I think my board is a full-size one. I haven't seen it yet as they installed it while I was at a conference. I am looking forward to it. I am having software issues that will be resolved tomorrow.
Linda Yarbrough-Pathways aka Vineland
I agree with all those above that the Smartboard increases the level of engagement and interaction in my room. It is an amazing tool for students to use during literacy centers to practice and re-enforce skills. My kindergarten students are the most cooperative and focused in the Smartboard center. The only technical problem that I have had consistently is my pens sometimes freeze in the writing position. I am getting help through IVS to correct this problem. Christine Bellucci, Westside School
I have experienced great success with my Smartboard. My students engagement level is through the roof! I use it everyday, all day long. My overhead projector is collecting dust in the corner. I have witnessed improved understanding, better comprehension, higher test scores and increased enthusiasm through this interactive learning tool. At first, I used it to present information but realized it's true power was in student interaction. They love going up to the board! It has taken a good chunk of my time planning lessons to use with it but it has been well worth it. I worry about teachers who have a lack of computer knowledge as they might find all of this confusing and frustrating. Baby steps are recommended for them. I am going to be sad to see it go.
(Marc Seely, Oakdale Elementary, 4th Grade)
2 - Airliners
Hello...I'm Rick Mau (4th Grade Teacher from Woodridge School) and I'm piloting the Airliner and Senteo Smart Response Clickers.
I've really found the Notebook Software that works with the Airliner to be one of the best software programs I've ever used. The tools I use everyday are the class timers, random number generator (to randomly ask questions to students in my class), and numerous personally created templates that I've built upon since using this new technology in December.
One of the best features is the many saved files that I have created which can then be printed out for students (notes for absent students or those students keeping their notes organized.
No longer do I have to worry about rewriting or using my white board to save information that I wish to refer back to (I just pull up a saved file....Hallelujah!!)
I do have some suggestions that would help improve the efficiency of using my Airliner. I have learned how to have multiple Notebook applications running to eliminate the time it takes to open/close files, but it would be nice to have a freeze screen (kind of like the AVERKEY I used to use)so that I can have students continuing to take notes while I'm setting up SENTEO or prepping for the next slide. Currently, I'm being held up by this limitation. I have to wait until students are done copying notes before I can work on the next screen presentation.
I project onto 1/2 of my white board which is a slightly larger area than my projector screen, and I'm getting better at wandering the class and writing at the same time. I am using the Scott Foresman CD (Adobe capture) to bring homework review lessons up on the white board. I am using multiple captured pictures to enhance my ELD lessons. I'm capturing WORD, ADOBE, and PUBLISHER files that I've already created or used to enhance my teaching. I am having my higher reading group read independently each day and taking SENTEO quizzes on leveled reading books that they are reading. Having the projector has allowed me to use Scott Foresman Digital Path Social Studies Lessons (it is so much larger than using a TV screen). It is taking a very, very, long time to plan lessons, but the more time I put in the faster I'm becoming in NOTEBOOK. It would be nice to have the district expand this technology to my two other 4th grade level partners at Woodridge. As the planning and collaboration on lessons would build even more support and ideas for this cutting-edge technology. My planning is now thought out in "slide presentation"....it's a whole new experience that is fresh and exciting in my 10th year of teaching.
I'd love to hear from others about their successes too!!
Hello from Foothill Oaks!
All three of us teach fourth grade at Foothill Oaks and we are all piloting the Airliners and the Senteos. We LOVE the Airliners and use them in our classes regularly. We enjoy being able to walk around our room and not be chained to the front board. This flexibility has really reduced the amount of off task behavior during lessons and the animated lessons are very engaging for students. Megan enjoys using the Airliner for "hands on" math lessons, Kathy loves to utilize her Airliner for EL lessons, and Suzy enjoys using her Airliner for Language Arts mini-lessons. We spent a lot of time planning lessons together and downloading pre-made lessons from the SMART teacher resource site this year. We were really looking forward to using this technology in our classrooms next year, however, it seems that we will have to wait a few years until Foothill Oaks is remodeled.
-Megan Gordon, Kathy Drake, and Suzy Brusca; 4th Grade Teachers at Foothill Oaks
I love my Airliner!!! Being a very "low tech " person, I was hesitant to try it, but I have found it invaluable. My third graders really key in and stay involved with the lessons. I use it for math, language arts, and science( when we can find time). I found it to be easy to learn, and realize the potential technology has for bringing even more to my class. I am so sad to be loosing this wonderful tool.
Vicki Hart
F.C. Joyce
3 - Senteos
Using the Senteos has been great. Although I feel it would be even more valuable in an intermediate classroom, the 2nd graders really love the experiences with them. The "teaching moments" become so immediate, and the students are much more engaged. They are a great tool for review before a test, letting us me know immediately what needed to be reviewed.
~Stacey McAtee, Kohler School
I can not say enough about the Senteos! I love them! I love them! I love them! And even more, the students love them. I am not stressed about my students taking "the big test" this year because we have been working on test taking skills all year with the Senteos...and I've actually seen the students apply those skills when taking quizzes and tests which is all thanks to the Senteos! My class know they had to continue working on math problems until the whole class got 90% or higher on a few questions in a row. It became a game for them to try get it done as soon as possible so they could earn class time to work on their homework. Talk about a great tool to get your class to pay attention, ask questions, and get to work! ~Gina Ripley (Kohler)
Need to know if they are getting it and fast... the senteo make it happen. Students really don't even think of it as a quiz. It's fun..It is a great assessment tool to do instantly or have a quick quiz over yesterdays lesson. Need to take a quick opinion poll, you can do that too. It takes a little practice to import a quiz from Word. Kids really get excited to work with the senteos.
Kimberly Rivera, Aero Haven.
These are amazing tools to have in the classroom...provides the immediate feedback that both teachers and students need and correlates with the measures colors as well (show me the green!). Students don't even blink that it's "quiz" time because they're so excited about the technology, they pay closer attention, and they thrive off of seeing immediate results.
Jeri Jones, Aero Haven
Senteos have drastically changed the way I assess student learning. Both the students and the teacher benefit from using these "clickers". The students hardly even know they are taking a "quiz" or test because the clickers are so fun to use for them. Teachers benefit because we get instant feedback and don't have to spend hours correcting tests or classwork. I use these at least 4 times a week to check for understanding during and after lessons and for more formal assessments. My students love to see the results up on the board and always ask to see who got the questions right or wrong. Of course I only show them who got it right but then I know who needs extra help with certain concepts. It did take me a while to work out the kinks with the senteos but it was well worth it. I did learn early on to print out the quizzes so the students could work at their own pace instead of waiting for the whole class to finish a question before moving on to the next one. If, for some reason, the school decides not to purchase these I would seriously consider buying them out of pocket. -Gina Friend
I have had a hard time using them, but will be getting help this week. My students are looking forward to it. They have helped me to experiment with them.
Linda Yarbrough- Pathways
My students love to use the Senteos, but I am still working on using them in an efficient and effective manner. It takes a lot of work setting routines and proceedures to have my kindergarten students truely benefit from using them. Christine Bellucci-Westside
We found that the Senteos were great review tools after a lesson or before a test. Our students were very engaged while using the Senteos, and were quickly able to understand how to use them. We all enjoy the Senteos, however, we found that it they were much more time consuming (in and out of the classroom) than the Airliners. The Airliner is ready to go when you are, the Senteos requires lots of prep-time.
We each have 34 students and occasionally students had to share Senteos (we each had a set of 32) which made true assessment difficult. Although we found the Senteos to be helpful, we also found the technical problems we ran into to be very time consuming. If our school kept the Senteos, we would spend lots of time planning and creating quizzes over the summer to use during the school year for assessment purposes.
-Megan Gordon, Kathy Drake, and Suzy Brusca; 4th Grade Teachers at Foothill Oaks
I have really only used these for math and my kids love them. Setting up the questions takes time but I have gotten into a routine. Instant feedback is wonderful for the kids and for me. I wish we could have these next year. With more time and practice I could see using these almost all day.
(Marc Seely, Oakdale Elementary, 4th Grade)
4 - Computer Competencies recommended for using the SMART boards
I did not have any problems using my board or the Senteos. More than anything, I just needed time to play around with the program (Learn by doing). I know there are many lessons on the web to download, but in addition many Rio Linda teachers have created lessons. I would love to see a place where we could all save our lessons and share them with each other, maybe by grade level. There is no reason why everyone should create their own lessons when we teach the same standards across a grade level. I believe those less techie teachers would be more willing to use a lesson already prepared then try to create one of their own as well. ~Gina Ripley (Kohler)
My thoughts on competencies related to using this new technology are that the user needs to be savvy with a multitude of programs to get the best use of this technology. Competency with software programs such as Measures, PowerPoint, Adobe, Word, Excel prior to using this software will assist in learning the Notebook Software more quickly. You will also need to be able to easily adapt to the downsides of technology. Crashes in the middle of lessons can be stressful when you have a room full of kids that are waiting on you to troubleshoot. No technology ever works right 100 percent of the time (I had have had more than one instance of the SENTEO program crashing and not providing results that I could export to Excel). I would recommend that SENTEO always be used with quizzes printed out (as Gina Friend mentioned in her comments). The benefits are that students can go at their own pace and if the technology fails at doing something you have the hardcopy paper backup. I also recommend choosing teachers that are partnered up with the technology in the same grade. Prep time in creating creating lessons requires dedication even if you have templates in place. Having a partner that you can bounce ideas off of or share the time it takes to create lessons will allow more use of the technology and get more buy-in on utilizing this technology more and more in daily lessons. (Rick Mau-Woodridge School 4th Grade)
I couldn't agree with Rick more - especially the part where he states about being adaptable to technology problems that you never know if and when they will happen. It's frustrating, to say the least, to plan a lesson using the board and senteos and standing in front of a class ready and waiting and nothing works. At the very least, users should be familiar with the programs that communicate with Smart Notebook (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.) to make the first year of using it easier. I say this because being familiar with these programs and having used them for lesson planning, I was able to import a lot of previously created lessons and use them right away and adding things to enhance as I started to learn more about about Smart Notebook. Rick also states an excellent point of having a great team. Smart Boards and Senteos ARE wonderful, but they do take time to create. Having a team to share with can ease some of the burden of picking and choosing the best ways to incorporate the technology into daily lessons.
Jeri Jones, Aero Haven
What Rick and Jeri said are right on. I have had a few problems with the SMARTboard and even more so with the Senteos, and it is quite frustrating to have to abandon a lesson in the middle due to "technical difficulties". One major complaint that I have is that the SMARTboard and Senteo software take up so much room on my laptop that it now runs extremely slow. Especially when we are using the internet (particularly with Social Studies). Users do need to be somewhat computer savvy to use both the SMARTboard and Senteos, although I also think that is is not so much computer knowledge as just having an open mind and being willing to use trial and error. Users should be comfortable with word, powerpoint and using an LCD projector. I am the first to admit that Excel scares me and I am getting by just fine without it :) The training was extremely helpful and I think, with that same amount of training, any teacher could be successful. As with anything in teaching, helpful grade level partners are a great way to distribute the work. - Gina Friend
I, too, agree with the above comments. On a weekly basis, I run in to difficulties with using the SMARTboard (mostly with realigning the board). As a starting point, teachers need to be aware of the possible problems and how to remedy those without giving up on a lesson. Users should be comfortable with navigating the Internet, using basic programs such as word and powerpoint, and using an LCD projector. With the same training we had, I feel teachers will be successful with the SMARTboard as long as they are willing to try new things. - Nicole Ball, Frontier
I have had no problems, I usually have to only calibrate my board once a day, on a rare day maybe twice. I have not had the program crash while using the senteos. The only problems I have had is the laptop is a server and won't allow Smart Notebook to print capture. I think that if a teacher can do reportcards on the computer and has the ability to cut, paste, and work with Word they can get started using the board. Just like some people are more computer savy they will be able to use the board to its capbilities sooner. Someone who is not computer savy might take it a little slower and need some support, that is where working as a team and supoorting your partners will be essential. I have suggested to other teachers to go to smarttech and download the software and get started playing around with it now so that when we have these boards next year they will be ahead of the game.
Kimberly Rivera, Aero Haven.
As with any technology, this will take some patience on everyone's part. I think that the best thing that a teacher can do is go through a few tutorials for programs they already use. We have to remember that once we get some practice, it will become second nature. I am going to try to learn something new each day--really concentrate on the steps and process.
Linda Yarbrough-Pathways
I think that the Smartboard software is very user friendly. With a little extra help even the most technophobic teacher can gain the necessary skills to begin to take advantage of this wonderfull technology. I don't think they necessarily have to be familiar with the Microsoft programs that communicate with Smart Notebook to use Smartboards, especially in the primary grades. I rarely, if ever use those programs with my board. (Most intermediate teachers that I know have at least a general familiarity with the Microsoft programs.) They should, however know how to download, or should learn how to download from the internet. There are so many excellent lessons already out there for teachers to use, even if they have a difficult time creating new lessons of their own. I think it would be very easy to do a "Smartboard for Dummies" training to get the less confident, or less tech-skilled teachers up and running with their boards. There just needs to be more "how to" scaffolding for them and a slower pace. The training that we had with Melissa, although excellent, was very quick and I can see a lot of the less technologically advanced teachers getting lost and frustrated. Christine Bellucci
The most important thing in order to learn to use the Smartboard effectively is TIME. It does not take a lot of time to learn it, but time must be put in to make it an effective learning and teaching tool. There are hundreds if not thousands of smartboard lessons on-line for all grade levels. Time must be put in to find them and to incorporate them into your lessons. By no means iis it difficult, and it is very similar in style and look to some of the more common programs out there (like Powerpoint and Word). There is a huge payoff in learning to use it, but a teacher must be committed to learning it and using it. The software is very user-friendly and provides a myriad of options that are awesome, not only in engaging the students, but also in solidfying tough to understand concepts. When Westside rolls these out this summer, I fully expect to be doing some hands-on training with my other teachers, but I also know that this will pay off big in the end. For the most part, it's fun to use, the kids love it, there are very few problems, and kids learn more and better. I look forward to showing my fellow staff members the many things it can do!
Tony Wood-Westside Tech Coach
We each feel pretty confident in our technology skills, however, we ran into several problems while trying to implement this new technology. After the training, we went back to our classrooms and began following the step by step process to install all of the new programs, drivers, and components. Each of us ran into different problems, and through trial and error (lots of re-booting, and re-installing) we solved most of the problems. We did however have to call the company for help at least three times to solve unexplainable situations. One month after our training none of us had all of the technology operational. We actually needed a half day to sit down and work out all of the bugs.
We would recommend holding the first training session at a time when teachers can bring their laptops and install the programs on the spot. That way the company or tech support could help solve any problems right then and there. I think that this will help teachers feel more comfortable using the technology in their classrooms when they know that everything is ready and most importantly that it works.
-Megan Gordon, Kathy Drake, and Suzy Brusca; 4th Grade Teachers at Foothill Oaks
I don't want to be to redundant with what others have already said. I would say we need Smart to come out and train the teachers for this to be successful! If this is just installed and only limited training is given it will become a white elephant in the room. You have to have intermediate to advanced computer skills to create and really utilize this board. However, you can operate the basics fairly easily and for most teachers this will be a big advantage over an overhead so it might encourage them to learn further. Baby steps!!!!!!
(Marc Seely, Oakdale Elementary, 4th Grade)
Hello from an "ole techie newbie!"
I teach at Oakdale and would like to echo everyone's comments regarding the student engagement advantages of the smartboard. I was rather slow in my skill development but feel I am catching on :) I do hope we have extensive paid training with this wonderful tool and that each teacher will be given a scanner to fully integrate the curriculum resources with the smartboard . Many teachers are still fairly new at technology and would love to be trained ! (Brenda Thiesen,Oakdale School,fourth grade)
Here you will find sites or Links to interactive sites to use with interactive smatboards or interactive tablets.
stions.
1 - Full size boards only
I have really enjoyed piloting the Smartboard; it has really changed the way I teach . The students love using the Smartboard, and when it is occasionally acting temperamental, more often than not the students know can fix the problem! The level on interest and engagement from the students increased a great deal when we began using the Smartboard, and now it is used all day long.The lessons that Smartboard offers as free downloads are wonderful, as well as the thousands of pre-made lessons available on the web. I am extremely excited to go through the remodel this summer - to have the SmartBoards mounted will be great. I am also anxious to get more SmartBoard training! - I believe once our entire school is using Smartboards, the collaboration will be great.
~Stacey McAtee, Kohler School
This board has changed the way I teach in so many ways! Even with the two small training sessions, the notebook was user friendly. I learned a great deal from the training, but even more by playing around with it in my room. It was also helpful to download lessons and then edit them to fit my lessons. The bright screen with the different pen colors was very engaging. The gallery helped students learn concepts in all subjects that were hard to bring to life previously. The students would moan if I ever turned on the overhead projector. "Why can't we use the Smart Board?" they would all ask. I am happy to have the boards mounted and to get rid of all those cords on the floor! Lessons were easy to find on the web, but I spend most of my time creating quizzes with the Senteos. Those are the BEST! We are planning to do a fundraiser to purchase a few sets! Anyone want some cookie dough? I can't live without them now that I've seen the light! What a wonderful way to make learning more interactive and for students and teachers to get instant feedback. For students, the Senteos motivated them to stay on task and I found they put forth more of an effort when I passed out the Senteos. I would like to recommend that we train our substitute teachers to use the boards as well. My Smartboard blocked my white board so they were unable to use anything for the day. *I am truly happy to have been apart of this learning experience. ~Gina Ripley (Kohler)
I am so sad to hear that they will be leaving. I love having the board. It has been an awsome tool. I started using it in October and have not gone back to the overhead once. I have not had any problems. I usually only have to calibrate my board in the morning. It has been really easy. It has completely changed the way I teach. It is awsome for ELL's, being able to have color graphics and things instantly become real for students. It is a little challenging to do sub plans. I really don't want a sub messing with my computer, and I'm the one responsible for it if they leave the door unlocked. So for subs. I create alternate plans. I love the board. Kimberly Rivera, Aero Haven.
I am thrilled to have the "magic" board in my class. I have spent many hours creating lessons that are truely helping the First graders at my school learn. I use the board for a few hours a day. I did have to spend hours setting the board up. I made several trips to Fry's purchasing the right length cords and fire code floor covers. I do have to realign the board a few times a day but my first graders practice counting by 2's when I am fixing the board. I have only had the board working for 2 weeks and I can't imagine teaching without it again. I do wish we had maybe a meeting once a month to share great lessons and helpful hints.
Having these boards mounted will obviously eliminate the problems that I've had with my board - constant realigning, cord problems, difficulty between laptop/board communication. Unfortunately, for the pilot, this has been somewhat troublesome because it's been touch and go whether or not the board will be cooperating on a certain day. Still though, it's been an amazing resource to have and the kids are so much more engaged and in tune. The capabilities of the board to enhance curriculum is amazing. Learning is inevitable and fun.
Jeri Jones, Aero Haven
The SMARTboard has trully changed the level of student engagement during lessons for the better. Instead of one or two hands popping up to volunteer modeling, I have 21! Even better, there are literally thousands of ready-made lessons on the internet that I can use or tweak to my liking. The gallery also has tons of backgrounds and other visuals I use to teach everything from cursive to classifying angles. I can honestly say that I have not turned on my overhead projector in months! I have not had a very difficult time calibrating the SMARTboard, either, though my students are now very familiar with that word (which third graders would never know otherwise!). I do have some minor concerns, though. There are tons of cords needed to plug in the laptop, LCD projector, SMARTboard, and senteo clickers. My students are constantly tripping over them (I may have once or twice as well). Also, although there are some graphic organizers in the gallery, I would love for Houghton-Mifflin to put out a disk with their transparencies so that I could use those as well. I am also teaching my student teacher to use the SMARTboard and she has been picking it up rather easily. I don't know how I ever taught without it! - Gina Friend, Frontier School
My Smartboard has added a new level of student engagement and interaction in my classroom. I have created lessons that give visual and concrete examples of difficult to understand math concepts, and having access to the thousands of lessons on the internet has proved invaluable. There are some drawbacks as mentioned above, but the mounting of the boards and projectors will certainly ease some of those problems. We're getting these installed at Westside as I write this and I look forward to having our staff utilize these to their fullest. They have to be used to be effective!
Tony Wood-Westside
I think my board is a full-size one. I haven't seen it yet as they installed it while I was at a conference. I am looking forward to it. I am having software issues that will be resolved tomorrow.
Linda Yarbrough-Pathways aka Vineland
I agree with all those above that the Smartboard increases the level of engagement and interaction in my room. It is an amazing tool for students to use during literacy centers to practice and re-enforce skills. My kindergarten students are the most cooperative and focused in the Smartboard center. The only technical problem that I have had consistently is my pens sometimes freeze in the writing position. I am getting help through IVS to correct this problem. Christine Bellucci, Westside School
I have experienced great success with my Smartboard. My students engagement level is through the roof! I use it everyday, all day long. My overhead projector is collecting dust in the corner. I have witnessed improved understanding, better comprehension, higher test scores and increased enthusiasm through this interactive learning tool. At first, I used it to present information but realized it's true power was in student interaction. They love going up to the board! It has taken a good chunk of my time planning lessons to use with it but it has been well worth it. I worry about teachers who have a lack of computer knowledge as they might find all of this confusing and frustrating. Baby steps are recommended for them. I am going to be sad to see it go.
(Marc Seely, Oakdale Elementary, 4th Grade)
2 - Airliners
Hello...I'm Rick Mau (4th Grade Teacher from Woodridge School) and I'm piloting the Airliner and Senteo Smart Response Clickers.
I've really found the Notebook Software that works with the Airliner to be one of the best software programs I've ever used. The tools I use everyday are the class timers, random number generator (to randomly ask questions to students in my class), and numerous personally created templates that I've built upon since using this new technology in December.
One of the best features is the many saved files that I have created which can then be printed out for students (notes for absent students or those students keeping their notes organized.
No longer do I have to worry about rewriting or using my white board to save information that I wish to refer back to (I just pull up a saved file....Hallelujah!!)
I do have some suggestions that would help improve the efficiency of using my Airliner. I have learned how to have multiple Notebook applications running to eliminate the time it takes to open/close files, but it would be nice to have a freeze screen (kind of like the AVERKEY I used to use)so that I can have students continuing to take notes while I'm setting up SENTEO or prepping for the next slide. Currently, I'm being held up by this limitation. I have to wait until students are done copying notes before I can work on the next screen presentation.
I project onto 1/2 of my white board which is a slightly larger area than my projector screen, and I'm getting better at wandering the class and writing at the same time. I am using the Scott Foresman CD (Adobe capture) to bring homework review lessons up on the white board. I am using multiple captured pictures to enhance my ELD lessons. I'm capturing WORD, ADOBE, and PUBLISHER files that I've already created or used to enhance my teaching. I am having my higher reading group read independently each day and taking SENTEO quizzes on leveled reading books that they are reading. Having the projector has allowed me to use Scott Foresman Digital Path Social Studies Lessons (it is so much larger than using a TV screen). It is taking a very, very, long time to plan lessons, but the more time I put in the faster I'm becoming in NOTEBOOK. It would be nice to have the district expand this technology to my two other 4th grade level partners at Woodridge. As the planning and collaboration on lessons would build even more support and ideas for this cutting-edge technology. My planning is now thought out in "slide presentation"....it's a whole new experience that is fresh and exciting in my 10th year of teaching.
I'd love to hear from others about their successes too!!
Hello from Foothill Oaks!
All three of us teach fourth grade at Foothill Oaks and we are all piloting the Airliners and the Senteos. We LOVE the Airliners and use them in our classes regularly. We enjoy being able to walk around our room and not be chained to the front board. This flexibility has really reduced the amount of off task behavior during lessons and the animated lessons are very engaging for students. Megan enjoys using the Airliner for "hands on" math lessons, Kathy loves to utilize her Airliner for EL lessons, and Suzy enjoys using her Airliner for Language Arts mini-lessons. We spent a lot of time planning lessons together and downloading pre-made lessons from the SMART teacher resource site this year. We were really looking forward to using this technology in our classrooms next year, however, it seems that we will have to wait a few years until Foothill Oaks is remodeled.
-Megan Gordon, Kathy Drake, and Suzy Brusca; 4th Grade Teachers at Foothill Oaks
I love my Airliner!!! Being a very "low tech " person, I was hesitant to try it, but I have found it invaluable. My third graders really key in and stay involved with the lessons. I use it for math, language arts, and science( when we can find time). I found it to be easy to learn, and realize the potential technology has for bringing even more to my class. I am so sad to be loosing this wonderful tool.
Vicki Hart
F.C. Joyce
3 - Senteos
Using the Senteos has been great. Although I feel it would be even more valuable in an intermediate classroom, the 2nd graders really love the experiences with them. The "teaching moments" become so immediate, and the students are much more engaged. They are a great tool for review before a test, letting us me know immediately what needed to be reviewed.
~Stacey McAtee, Kohler School
I can not say enough about the Senteos! I love them! I love them! I love them! And even more, the students love them. I am not stressed about my students taking "the big test" this year because we have been working on test taking skills all year with the Senteos...and I've actually seen the students apply those skills when taking quizzes and tests which is all thanks to the Senteos! My class know they had to continue working on math problems until the whole class got 90% or higher on a few questions in a row. It became a game for them to try get it done as soon as possible so they could earn class time to work on their homework. Talk about a great tool to get your class to pay attention, ask questions, and get to work! ~Gina Ripley (Kohler)
Need to know if they are getting it and fast... the senteo make it happen. Students really don't even think of it as a quiz. It's fun..It is a great assessment tool to do instantly or have a quick quiz over yesterdays lesson. Need to take a quick opinion poll, you can do that too. It takes a little practice to import a quiz from Word. Kids really get excited to work with the senteos.
Kimberly Rivera, Aero Haven.
These are amazing tools to have in the classroom...provides the immediate feedback that both teachers and students need and correlates with the measures colors as well (show me the green!). Students don't even blink that it's "quiz" time because they're so excited about the technology, they pay closer attention, and they thrive off of seeing immediate results.
Jeri Jones, Aero Haven
Senteos have drastically changed the way I assess student learning. Both the students and the teacher benefit from using these "clickers". The students hardly even know they are taking a "quiz" or test because the clickers are so fun to use for them. Teachers benefit because we get instant feedback and don't have to spend hours correcting tests or classwork. I use these at least 4 times a week to check for understanding during and after lessons and for more formal assessments. My students love to see the results up on the board and always ask to see who got the questions right or wrong. Of course I only show them who got it right but then I know who needs extra help with certain concepts. It did take me a while to work out the kinks with the senteos but it was well worth it. I did learn early on to print out the quizzes so the students could work at their own pace instead of waiting for the whole class to finish a question before moving on to the next one. If, for some reason, the school decides not to purchase these I would seriously consider buying them out of pocket. -Gina Friend
I have had a hard time using them, but will be getting help this week. My students are looking forward to it. They have helped me to experiment with them.
Linda Yarbrough- Pathways
My students love to use the Senteos, but I am still working on using them in an efficient and effective manner. It takes a lot of work setting routines and proceedures to have my kindergarten students truely benefit from using them. Christine Bellucci-Westside
We found that the Senteos were great review tools after a lesson or before a test. Our students were very engaged while using the Senteos, and were quickly able to understand how to use them. We all enjoy the Senteos, however, we found that it they were much more time consuming (in and out of the classroom) than the Airliners. The Airliner is ready to go when you are, the Senteos requires lots of prep-time.
We each have 34 students and occasionally students had to share Senteos (we each had a set of 32) which made true assessment difficult. Although we found the Senteos to be helpful, we also found the technical problems we ran into to be very time consuming. If our school kept the Senteos, we would spend lots of time planning and creating quizzes over the summer to use during the school year for assessment purposes.
-Megan Gordon, Kathy Drake, and Suzy Brusca; 4th Grade Teachers at Foothill Oaks
I have really only used these for math and my kids love them. Setting up the questions takes time but I have gotten into a routine. Instant feedback is wonderful for the kids and for me. I wish we could have these next year. With more time and practice I could see using these almost all day.
(Marc Seely, Oakdale Elementary, 4th Grade)
4 - Computer Competencies recommended for using the SMART boards
I did not have any problems using my board or the Senteos. More than anything, I just needed time to play around with the program (Learn by doing). I know there are many lessons on the web to download, but in addition many Rio Linda teachers have created lessons. I would love to see a place where we could all save our lessons and share them with each other, maybe by grade level. There is no reason why everyone should create their own lessons when we teach the same standards across a grade level. I believe those less techie teachers would be more willing to use a lesson already prepared then try to create one of their own as well. ~Gina Ripley (Kohler)
My thoughts on competencies related to using this new technology are that the user needs to be savvy with a multitude of programs to get the best use of this technology. Competency with software programs such as Measures, PowerPoint, Adobe, Word, Excel prior to using this software will assist in learning the Notebook Software more quickly. You will also need to be able to easily adapt to the downsides of technology. Crashes in the middle of lessons can be stressful when you have a room full of kids that are waiting on you to troubleshoot. No technology ever works right 100 percent of the time (I had have had more than one instance of the SENTEO program crashing and not providing results that I could export to Excel). I would recommend that SENTEO always be used with quizzes printed out (as Gina Friend mentioned in her comments). The benefits are that students can go at their own pace and if the technology fails at doing something you have the hardcopy paper backup. I also recommend choosing teachers that are partnered up with the technology in the same grade. Prep time in creating creating lessons requires dedication even if you have templates in place. Having a partner that you can bounce ideas off of or share the time it takes to create lessons will allow more use of the technology and get more buy-in on utilizing this technology more and more in daily lessons. (Rick Mau-Woodridge School 4th Grade)
I couldn't agree with Rick more - especially the part where he states about being adaptable to technology problems that you never know if and when they will happen. It's frustrating, to say the least, to plan a lesson using the board and senteos and standing in front of a class ready and waiting and nothing works. At the very least, users should be familiar with the programs that communicate with Smart Notebook (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.) to make the first year of using it easier. I say this because being familiar with these programs and having used them for lesson planning, I was able to import a lot of previously created lessons and use them right away and adding things to enhance as I started to learn more about about Smart Notebook. Rick also states an excellent point of having a great team. Smart Boards and Senteos ARE wonderful, but they do take time to create. Having a team to share with can ease some of the burden of picking and choosing the best ways to incorporate the technology into daily lessons.
Jeri Jones, Aero Haven
What Rick and Jeri said are right on. I have had a few problems with the SMARTboard and even more so with the Senteos, and it is quite frustrating to have to abandon a lesson in the middle due to "technical difficulties". One major complaint that I have is that the SMARTboard and Senteo software take up so much room on my laptop that it now runs extremely slow. Especially when we are using the internet (particularly with Social Studies). Users do need to be somewhat computer savvy to use both the SMARTboard and Senteos, although I also think that is is not so much computer knowledge as just having an open mind and being willing to use trial and error. Users should be comfortable with word, powerpoint and using an LCD projector. I am the first to admit that Excel scares me and I am getting by just fine without it :) The training was extremely helpful and I think, with that same amount of training, any teacher could be successful. As with anything in teaching, helpful grade level partners are a great way to distribute the work. - Gina Friend
I, too, agree with the above comments. On a weekly basis, I run in to difficulties with using the SMARTboard (mostly with realigning the board). As a starting point, teachers need to be aware of the possible problems and how to remedy those without giving up on a lesson. Users should be comfortable with navigating the Internet, using basic programs such as word and powerpoint, and using an LCD projector. With the same training we had, I feel teachers will be successful with the SMARTboard as long as they are willing to try new things. - Nicole Ball, Frontier
I have had no problems, I usually have to only calibrate my board once a day, on a rare day maybe twice. I have not had the program crash while using the senteos. The only problems I have had is the laptop is a server and won't allow Smart Notebook to print capture. I think that if a teacher can do reportcards on the computer and has the ability to cut, paste, and work with Word they can get started using the board. Just like some people are more computer savy they will be able to use the board to its capbilities sooner. Someone who is not computer savy might take it a little slower and need some support, that is where working as a team and supoorting your partners will be essential. I have suggested to other teachers to go to smarttech and download the software and get started playing around with it now so that when we have these boards next year they will be ahead of the game.
Kimberly Rivera, Aero Haven.
As with any technology, this will take some patience on everyone's part. I think that the best thing that a teacher can do is go through a few tutorials for programs they already use. We have to remember that once we get some practice, it will become second nature. I am going to try to learn something new each day--really concentrate on the steps and process.
Linda Yarbrough-Pathways
I think that the Smartboard software is very user friendly. With a little extra help even the most technophobic teacher can gain the necessary skills to begin to take advantage of this wonderfull technology. I don't think they necessarily have to be familiar with the Microsoft programs that communicate with Smart Notebook to use Smartboards, especially in the primary grades. I rarely, if ever use those programs with my board. (Most intermediate teachers that I know have at least a general familiarity with the Microsoft programs.) They should, however know how to download, or should learn how to download from the internet. There are so many excellent lessons already out there for teachers to use, even if they have a difficult time creating new lessons of their own. I think it would be very easy to do a "Smartboard for Dummies" training to get the less confident, or less tech-skilled teachers up and running with their boards. There just needs to be more "how to" scaffolding for them and a slower pace. The training that we had with Melissa, although excellent, was very quick and I can see a lot of the less technologically advanced teachers getting lost and frustrated. Christine Bellucci
The most important thing in order to learn to use the Smartboard effectively is TIME. It does not take a lot of time to learn it, but time must be put in to make it an effective learning and teaching tool. There are hundreds if not thousands of smartboard lessons on-line for all grade levels. Time must be put in to find them and to incorporate them into your lessons. By no means iis it difficult, and it is very similar in style and look to some of the more common programs out there (like Powerpoint and Word). There is a huge payoff in learning to use it, but a teacher must be committed to learning it and using it. The software is very user-friendly and provides a myriad of options that are awesome, not only in engaging the students, but also in solidfying tough to understand concepts. When Westside rolls these out this summer, I fully expect to be doing some hands-on training with my other teachers, but I also know that this will pay off big in the end. For the most part, it's fun to use, the kids love it, there are very few problems, and kids learn more and better. I look forward to showing my fellow staff members the many things it can do!
Tony Wood-Westside Tech Coach
We each feel pretty confident in our technology skills, however, we ran into several problems while trying to implement this new technology. After the training, we went back to our classrooms and began following the step by step process to install all of the new programs, drivers, and components. Each of us ran into different problems, and through trial and error (lots of re-booting, and re-installing) we solved most of the problems. We did however have to call the company for help at least three times to solve unexplainable situations. One month after our training none of us had all of the technology operational. We actually needed a half day to sit down and work out all of the bugs.
We would recommend holding the first training session at a time when teachers can bring their laptops and install the programs on the spot. That way the company or tech support could help solve any problems right then and there. I think that this will help teachers feel more comfortable using the technology in their classrooms when they know that everything is ready and most importantly that it works.
-Megan Gordon, Kathy Drake, and Suzy Brusca; 4th Grade Teachers at Foothill Oaks
I don't want to be to redundant with what others have already said. I would say we need Smart to come out and train the teachers for this to be successful! If this is just installed and only limited training is given it will become a white elephant in the room. You have to have intermediate to advanced computer skills to create and really utilize this board. However, you can operate the basics fairly easily and for most teachers this will be a big advantage over an overhead so it might encourage them to learn further. Baby steps!!!!!!
(Marc Seely, Oakdale Elementary, 4th Grade)
Hello from an "ole techie newbie!"
I teach at Oakdale and would like to echo everyone's comments regarding the student engagement advantages of the smartboard. I was rather slow in my skill development but feel I am catching on :) I do hope we have extensive paid training with this wonderful tool and that each teacher will be given a scanner to fully integrate the curriculum resources with the smartboard . Many teachers are still fairly new at technology and would love to be trained ! (Brenda Thiesen,Oakdale School,fourth grade)
Here you will find sites or Links to interactive sites to use with interactive smatboards or interactive tablets.
SMART Board and AirLiner Activities from The Instructional Technology Department of Wichita Public Schools.Primary Games - K-2: Interactive games for all primary content areas.
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives - K-12 interactive manipulative games and activities. The activities are aligned to National Math standards and are accompanied by lesson plans.
ReadWriteThink offers a collection of online Student Materials to support literacy learning in the K-12 classroom.
Interactive Math Games
Notebook software lesson activities, Take advantage of thousands of Notebook software lesson activities for your classroom.
Multiplication.com Interactive games
Activities for the use of LCD Projectors
Classroom Game Templates and MOREDocument Camera